Viral Meningitis

A local doctor confirms four students are being treated for meningitis.

Three MSU students and one LCC student are being treated for viral meningitis.

One of them, Ashli Fabiano, a 21-year-old senior at MSU, complained of a fever and severe headache last Monday, and finally took herself to Sparrow's Emergency Room on Friday. She will most likely be released Monday night or early Tuesday morning.

Viral meningitis is relatively mild and usually clears up in a week or two with medication. Bacterial meningitis is much more serious and can result in brain damage or death. Dr. Peter Gulick says this is the time of year that lots of viruses are floating around.

"Late summer, early fall when students come back and live in crowded areas, that's when we see a lot of this," said Dr. Peter Gulick.

As for the three other students: one will most likely be released Tuesday morning and the two others are still waiting test results.

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What is Meningitis

Meningitis is the inflammation of the tissues that cover the brain and spinal cord.

Bacterial meningitis is generally more serious.

While meningococcal disease is the main cause of bacterial meningitis, there are many other types including pneumococcal, Hib, Group B streptococcal and others.

How do you contract Meningitis

At any given time in the U.S., one person in 10 will be carrying the bacteria that can cause meningococcal meningitis or septicaemia.

We carry them in the back of our nose and throat without ever realizing they are there.

In a few people the bacteria overcome the body’s immune defenses and pass through the lining of the nose and throat into the blood stream.

Once in the blood, they can cause two types of infection; meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia.

Scientists do not yet fully understand why a few people develop meningitis or septicaemia from bacteria, which are harmless to most of us.

Statistics show that children under the age of five, and young adults, have a higher risk of developing meningitis or septicaemia, although anyone can get these diseases.

The bacteria are very weak and can only survive for a short period of time outside the body.

The bacteria cannot live long in the air and are not carried on household objects such as clothes, furniture or toys.

To contract meningitis, you must be in very close contact with someone before the bacteria can pass between you, and even then it is unlikely that you will develop meningitis because most of us have natural resistance to the bacteria.

Can Meningitis be treated?

Meningitis can be treated. However, because it develops extremely rapidly, it is important to know the signs and symptoms, and to get medical help quickly if you think that someone has either of these diseases.

At least 95 percent of people recover from meningococcal meningitis, but the recovery rate in patients with meningococcal septicaemia can be as low as 50 percent, depending on the severity of the disease .

Both types of infection can kill very quickly if not recognized and treated in time.

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